Service-oriented Architecture at device level to support Evolvable Production Systems

The Evolvable Production System (EPS) paradigm identifies guidelines and solutions to support the design, maintenance and evolution of complete industrial infrastructures. At the same time, Service-oriented Architecture (SOA) approach is becoming a broadly deployed standard for business and enterprise integration, while spreading across all layers of an enterprise infrastructure and disparate domains of application envisioning a unified solution. The application of SOA-compliant technology based upon open web standards can significantly enhance the interoperability and openness at device level. The crescent ubiquity of smart devices across several domains of application can raise important lifecycle issues concerning control, management, supervision and diagnosis. The merge of the previous two approaches can allow the creation of a complete ecosystem able to support this new methodology. From initial setup and deployment to lifecycle monitoring and diagnosis, each device needs to be taken in account and easily reachable. This document extols the association of both approaches in the pursuit of a common goal at device level for the domain of industrial automation outlining fundamental architectural principles and a device model to support it. Also, a proof-of-concept prototype is presented to confirm its expected applicability in a industrial automation use-case scenario.